On 5/25/2017 2:01 PM, wrote:
On Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 9:11:51 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 10:15:58 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 6:35:35 AM UTC-7, wrote:
Discovery Channel's Daily Planet had an item on this yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzoakbBxm5g.

These devices require some means to detect the difference between a bump and a fall. I cannot see any way of doing that in a practical way. Furthermore to deploy them rapidly enough you need a method of explosive decompression which would in all likelihood be more dangerous than the fall it would be capable of protecting you from.

Again - the problem is not the ABILITY to build something that would work - it's the ability to build something that people can accept and isn't more of a danger than the fall.

I do not see it as an improvement on the typical skid lid, and it looks to me
as if it could lead to even worse neck injuries.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO

I think that it's a joke. What would trigger inflation?

It's not a joke, at least not to the people promoting it. Supposedly
it's got accelerometers and electronics that distinguish between normal
motions and impending impacts.

However, I remember seeing one video showing the thing going off
accidentally when a guy was simply putting on the jacket that contained
the gizmo in its collar. Since it costs upwards of $200, that false
alarm was pretty pricey.

(I searched for the video but couldn't find it.)


--
- Frank Krygowski